


The Best Love (They Say It's Insane)

by thisiswherethefishlives



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Getting Together, M/M, Mutual Pining, Plotting, Secret Organizations, betting pools
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-16
Updated: 2015-09-16
Packaged: 2018-04-21 02:41:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,753
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4811906
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thisiswherethefishlives/pseuds/thisiswherethefishlives
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sometimes you just have to wait for things to fall together in their own time. For all other situations, you call in the Triumvirate.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Stage One

**Author's Note:**

> All of this was inspired by a glorious picture of Henry Simmons in costume and a few too many margaritas. Brace yourself, this might get weird. Alternatively, it could be awesome, but I suggest that you brace yourself anyways.

The first time that Fitz sees Mack in his field gear… well, it’s distracting.

From the way that his biceps are on full display (flexing,  _glistening_  in the light - holy shit) to the fingerless gloves (that will be a sure-fire staple of Fitz’s wank sessions going forward - again,  _holy shit_ ), the whole get up is insane.

Mack’s  _body_  is insane.

Honestly, Fitz doesn’t understand how Skye isn’t effected by the picture that Mack makes, can’t fathom how she can smirk at him so  _knowingly_  as the prototype that Fitz has been working on all week slips from his fingers.

It all happens in slow motion - Fitz can feel the heavy weight slip through his grasp, he can register the way that his shoulders hunch in on instinct, preparing for a crash that never comes. It’s the last part that doesn’t really click… because it doesn’t come, and that’s just not right at all.

Cautiously opening his eyes (which must have closed instinctually at some point), Fitz’s heart beats in double-time at the realization that Mack save the day.

“You’re always saving the day.”

It’s not the fragile breathiness of his words that makes Fitz wince. No, it’s the way that Mack laughs off his works before setting the prototype down carefully on the workstation between them.

“Nah, I wouldn’t go that far, Turbo. Just helping out when I can.”

Fitz can hear the smile in Mack’s voice and does his best to smile back, but from the way that Mack’s smile dims… he’s not sure that it translates.

No.

It very obviously doesn’t translate.

It doesn’t do much of anything aside from encourage Mack to step out the door with a tight smile, an awkward wave, and some weak excuse about needing to check in with Coulson mumbled under his breath. The door to the lab slides shut behind him leaving a void that, upon further consideration, has Fitz’s heart pumping even faster… because yes, that was awkward and strange… but Fitz  _misses_  Mack when he walks away, probably always has, and it has nothing to do with how  insanely good Mack looks in his uniform.

“Oh my god, you’re both so hopeless.”

Fitz had been so caught up in the reoccurring realization that he harbors some not-so-friendly feelings for Mack that he might have forgotten that Skye was still in the room. An honest mistake really, so there’s no reason for her to be cackling so loudly - it’s not as if he dropped the prototype again.

Of course, the second  _that_  thought goes through Fitz’s head he starts packing his work up for the night. He’s already fumbled once today, it’s not the kind of thing that he wants to repeat - it certainly wouldn’t reflect well on his monthly reviews. Ignoring Skye’s laughter, he focuses on the task at hand and definitely doesn’t drop anything when she starts talking again.

“Seriously, Fitz, you need to let Mack down easy and you need to do it soon. The way that he’s been mooning over you? It makes him a liability, and I can’t have that in the field.”

“Wait… what.”

It’s less of a question and more of a statement, because… really? The idea of it alone is ridiculous.

“Don’t give me that look, Fitz. I know that you’ve been distracted with Jemma and work, but you’ve had to have noticed. I mean, Mack’s been into you for years. It was okay before, but now he’s my partner and I need him focused, I can’t have him tied up in a dead-end crush.”

Well, if the prototype hadn’t been put away moments before, there is no doubt that it would be in pieces on the floor.

“No. No, no, no - that is  _not_  what’s going on. I-I don’t… I mean, what? Mack isn’t-”

The words tumble from Fitz’s mouth in a mad rush, but then it really,  _really_  sinks in and oh. Oh, it’s like the world shifts on its axis over the course of a moment.

Pushing back from where she had draped herself along one of the Lab’s cluttered counters, Skye nods solemnly, as if they’re both on the same page.

“Just talk to him, Fitz. He’s a big boy, and you won’t be the first person to turn him down. Believe me, it will be better for everyone if you just lay it all on the table so that the both of you can move on.”

With a final nod and a wink she’s striding out the door leaving Fitz behind with his jaw very nearly dropped to the ground.

Apparently Mack’s body isn’t the only thing around base that’s insane.

 


	2. Triumvirate Interlude 1

_The room is dark and swathed in shadow, all the better of course to obscure the faces of those that have gathered around the large conference table._

_Though never acknowledged outside of the confines of their meetings, the unspoken agenda weighs heavy on each member._

_Long, they have waited._

* * *

“I’m sure you all know why I’ve called this meeting of the Triumvirate, but it bears repeating. I propose new terms to the agreement.”

Even though no one can see his face, Hunter has no problem rolling his eyes at Skye’s theatrics before throwing his two cents into the mix.

“Really, are we doing the cloak and dagger thing every time we meet up? It was fun the first few times, but really?  _Really?_  It’s been years of this business and there’s been nothing to indicate that we’re going to get anywhere with this. Also, can we please turn on the bloody lights?”

There’s a heavy sigh from across the table that most likely comes from Skye, but even so the lights come on as requested. Eyes straining to adapt to the sudden change in lighting, Hunter glances around the room only to throw his hands up in the air in a fit of pique.

“Okay…  _what the hell?_ You can’t be a Triumvirate with  _four_  people… that’s completely against the point of calling us a Triumvirate, and don’t get me started on how you brought Lincoln in on this without checking with the rest of us first.”

Again, there’s a heavy sigh from across the table, but this time Hunter can watch Skye when she does it. Somehow, it’s even more annoying with the visual stimulus. Lincoln’s sitting to her left looking bored as hell, so  _he’s_ no help, and May just looks… well, she looks like May.

“I okayed it,” May says, poker-face intact as she leans further back into the plush leather chair.

“Look,” Skye starts, not an ounce of shame to be found on her face, the little minx. “We needed the extra man power. Hunter, you’re absolutely right that nothing’s changed over the past few years, and that’s why I’m calling this meeting. We need to change the terms of the bet or we’re never going to get anywhere.”

It’s been awhile since the original bet was made, and while it’s true that none of them anticipated the whole thing to last so long, Hunter can’t help but feel like it would be giving up to change the rules now.

“If this is you trying to get out of the bet because you’re worried you won’t win -”

May holds up a hand, and that’s all Hunter needs to curb his words. As annoyed as he is about this entire sham of a meeting, he knows better than to challenge her on it.

“If we keep up the way we’ve been going, no one will win. We need to change the game, and I already authorized Skye to start with phase one. We’re going to give them the push they need to get their acts together, and we’re going to push them hard and fast. If Mack and Fitz can’t pull their heads out of their asses after this, we dissolve the Triumvirate completely and move on.”

The room’s quiet in the wake of her words, and as Hunter risks a look at Lincoln and Skye, it’s clear that May hadn’t kept them completely in the loop either.

“So… that’s it?” There’s a weariness in Skye’s voice that Hunter hasn’t heard from her before, and it only serves to bring home how long they’ve been invested in the potential for their friends to find happiness in each other.

Well, that and the five thousand dollar betting pool that’s at stake, but that’s another story entirely.

Nodding firmly, May stares them down one by one, possibly to make sure that they recognize the importance of this moment… it’s more likely that she’s just looking at them like she normally does, but Hunter gave up trying to tell the difference a long time ago.

“Alright, then,” Skye says before standing straight and proud at the head of the table. She looks like a leader as she takes in the rest of the group, a determined wrinkle in her brow. “As May said, I’ve already laid the groundwork for stage one. For now, we wait and see what happens. If Fitz doesn’t make a move, we progress to stage two.”

Lincoln’s the first to push his chair away from the table, and he’s looking at the door like it’s his only salvation, but Hunter can’t let the abrupt changes that have been made stand… it’s a matter of principal. Summoning his nerve, he raises a hand before speaking his piece.

“I don’t think we’re done just yet… If it’s all the same to you all, I have a proposition of my own.”

It’s only when he has the attention of everyone in the room that he continues, much to Lincoln’s obvious annoyance.

“I can let a lot of things stand, but I refuse to be part of a four-person Triumvirate. If we’re going to be involving Lincoln in our schemes, we should  _obviously_ be called the Quadrumvirate.”

There are eye rolls aplenty around the table, but May nods in agreement, and that’s all Hunter really needed to begin with. Across the table, Skye looks less like a natural leader and more like an annoyed Inhuman, but she agrees all the same.

“Okay, Hunter. We are now the Quadrumvirate. Now that  _that’s_  handled, I adjourn this meeting. We’ll reconvene again in two weeks.”

Pushing himself out of his chair, Hunter’s the first person out  the door - he’s got things to do and people to see - but even in his haste he can still hear Lincoln whining at Skye, and for once Hunter can’t disagree with him.

“You people are insane.”

 


End file.
